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Summary
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Leviathan, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Nature, War, and Civil Society
Power, Common-wealths, and Monarchies
Religion
Fear
Reason, Fact, and Philosophy
Summary
Analysis
Hobbes dedicates Leviathan to Francis Godolphin and begins by mentioning Godolphin’s late brother, Mr. Sidney Godolphin, whom Hobbes held in high regard. It is because of this respect that Hobbes now dedicates his discussion of common-wealths to Francis. Hobbes does not know how others will receive his book. There is a great divide in England between those who desire too much liberty and those who desire too much authority; thus, it is likely some people will find many of Hobbes’s ideas upsetting.
Francis Godolphin was an English politician and a member of Parliament. Like Hobbes, Godolphin was a Royalist, and he supported the monarchy. Godolphin’s brother, Sidney, was a poet who also served as a member of Parliament. Sidney was killed in 1643 fighting for the Royalists during the English Civil War (1642-1651). Hobbes refers to the Civil War—which pitted the Royalists (those who supported the monarchy) against the Parliamentarians (those who favored a more democratic approach to government)—several times in Leviathan, as he does here with mention of England’s political divide. This letter also identifies the purpose of Hobbes’s book: to address the political nature of common-wealths, a particularly important topic of the time. The war, which was ultimately a victory for the Parliamentarians, was coming to an end, and society and government were changing rapidly.
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Despite the likelihood that Hobbes’s words will offend some readers (like his treatment of Holy Scripture, for instance, which Hobbes cites in unorthodox ways) he believes his book is nevertheless necessary for the advancement of civil society. Furthermore, Hobbes speaks not of specific people, but of the “Seat of Power” in an abstract way. Still, if Francis Godolphin finds that he disagrees with the ideas expressed in the following pages, he is free to tell others that Hobbes deeply honored both Francis and his brother, Sidney, and this dedication was written entirely without Godolphin’s knowledge. The letter is signed in Paris by Hobbes on April 15-25, 1651.
Hobbes is writing from Paris, not England, because, as a famous Royalist, he was forced to flee England due to his political beliefs. Hobbes knew that his book was going to offend people, especially his political opposition. As a member of Parliament, Godolphin worked closely with the very same people (the “Seat of Power”) that Hobbes writes of abstractly in his book, which could potentially put Godolphin in a difficult position. In addition to Hobbes’s radical ideas about government, he also has radical ideas about religion, and he was accused of being an atheist. Like his political ideas, Hobbes knows his religious views will outrage others.
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